Unexpected Surprise
by Peach the Hedgehog
Summary: As one of the winners of the contest, Christy gets the chance to visit the Mushroom Kingdom to attend a special party. However, the visit is not what she expects. What happens when she accidentally gets kidnapped?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Mario series.

**AN: A few days ago, I had an idea that didn't make a lot of sense to me. But Awesome Rapidash helped me iron out the wrinkles. To make this story work, the Mario world is known to be real in our world.**

**As I can't contact the one who has reviewed me anonymously, I have decided to say something here. Toad the Sprocket, the reason I deleted the review you first sent me was not because I couldn't handle it. Your review was mean and actually abusive. You are entitled to your own opinions, but you don't have to be mean about it. **

A brown haired girl sat in front of the computer staring at the login screen for her email account. Her fingers were over the keyboard, but she was just too nervous to sign in.

What had her so nervous was the contest that she had decided to enter not long ago. It was known as the Use Peach Only contest. In it you play Super Mario Bros. 2, and choose to only play only as Princess Peach. You also couldn't warp, and it was highly recommended to use the either the original NES cartridge or play the game on Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES, but to start a new file. If done correctly, the Princess should have the number twenty above her head at the end of the game, and the others should have a zero above their heads.

A contest like this could not be done by score, since the Gameboy Advance version was not recommended. So instead, this contest was more of a race to see who got in their entries. One hundred lucky people would win a grand prize. A trip to the Mushroom Kingdom! It was a place that some people from her world had already visited before so this wasn't the first time something like this had come along.

However, when Christy heard of the contest this time, she just couldn't pass it up. Princess Peach had always been her favorite Mario character and she know that she would have no problem playing as her alone in Super Mario Bros. 2. Now some might say it's too easy to just use Peach, but she didn't care at all, and she was sure that there were other people that felt the same way. Not only that, she had always wanted to go the Mushroom Kingdom!

It felt like a long time ago that she sent in her entry, a form that included her name and email address. She had used Super Mario All-Stars because she couldn't find her NES copy at the time. She remembered back when she'd won against Wart using Peach. She took some pictures with her camera, after making sure to get rid of the flash, and then one picture to be sure she had a good one. The number was clearly twenty above the Princess' head, whereas Mario, Luigi and Toad didn't have a number, other than zero.

Christy was just afraid that she had wasted her time, figuring that other people had been much faster than her. She looked out the window and saw how dark gray clouds blanketed the sky. She couldn't help wondering if it was going to rain soon. She quickly shook her head and once again placed her fingers on the keyboard.

"I'll never know unless I check," the brunette said to herself. She quickly typed out her email address and her password and pushed the enter key. The girl closed her eyes as she wanted for the page to load on her screen. When she finally opened up her chocolate brown eyes, she saw that she had one unread email in her account.

The subject was entitled Super Mario Bros. 2 'Use Peach Only' Contest, and the name beside the email was the one that was mentioned when the contest was announced in magazines and stuff. Christy placed her hand onto the mouse, and moved it over to the unopened email and clicked it.

When the email loaded up, she looked and noticed how many people had received this email. She couldn't count them all! She scrolled down so she could read the actual email. Her eyes widened with surprise with what she read.

"_Congratulations! You're a winner!_

_You are one of the lucky grand prize winners in the 'Use Peach Only Contest!' To celebrate your win, you are invited to come to a special party hosted by me at my castle in the Mushroom Kingdom._

_Please go to your nearest participating game store and enter the warp pipe located there. Be sure to have this email on hand, for it is your invitation to the party. We will be awaiting your arrival!_

_Sincerely,_

_Princess Peach."_

Christy's mouth fell open from shock, and she rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. She had never won a contest before. When she finally stopped and took another good look at the email, she could tell it was the real thing.

With her eyes sparkling happily, she quickly copied and pasted the email, and printed it out. She didn't have a laptop computer, so this was the best thing she could do, to make sure she had the email on hand. She folded the email and stuck it in her pocket, and then she ran to tell her mom the great news.

* * *

Later that day Christy arrived at her local game store and after showing the copy of her email to the store's manager, she was led into the back room. There she saw a green colored warp pipe extending out from the floor. She had seen warp pipes in many different Mario games, but she had never seen one in front of her face until now. The brunette walked over to it and after a moment to gather her courage, she jumped right into it.

Since this was her first trip through a warp pipe, she couldn't help crying out in surprise as she free fell into the darkness. She felt a couple of twists and turns as she fell and it made her feel a little dizzy. Finally she tumbled out of the warp pipe and landed on cool green grass. She took a few minutes to regain her composure and looked up at the clear bright blue sky, taking in a couple of deep breaths.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked a concerned voice.

Christy lowered her gaze and noticed someone was standing nearby. A person with what looked like the top of a red spotted mushroom on his head. She couldn't believe her eyes! There before her was a real live Toad! After her initial shock passed, she looking around and noticed other Toads walking around the town.

"I… I'm fine," the girl finally answered, getting to her feet slowly. "I'm here for the party at Princess Peach's Castle."

"Ah I see, so you are one of the contest winners then?" the Toad inquired, gazing at the girl.

The brunette slowly nodded and took the printed email out of her pocket and handed it to the Toad. He smiled as he took a look at the piece of paper from the girl and examined the signature. "Yep, this is the party invitation alright!" He handed the piece of paper back to the girl. "I can show you to Peach's Castle if you like."

"Thanks. I would appreciate that," Christy answered gratefully.

The Toad's smile widened as he turned around and started to show the girl through the town. On the way, she couldn't help looking around. The village had many houses, most of them looking like mushrooms in some shape or form. There were shops to buy clothes, food and other necessities, and there was even a beautiful fountain right in the middle of the town.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of a castle. On the stained glass window at the top was a picture of Princess Peach, just like in the games. Two Toad guards stood right in front of the front door. The brunette's guide turned to her and nodded his head at her.

At first, she wasn't sure she understood. Then she remembered the email that she had been holding on to. She handed the piece of paper over to the guards, who looked it over carefully before looking back at the brown haired girl.

"Welcome!" one of them exclaimed.

"We have been expecting you!" the other added.

The two guards parted, allowing the brunette to go inside. "Have a good time!" both of them said together as Christy walked inside the castle.

While the village was something new to see, the castle was absolutely stunning in person. Christy's eyes widened as she looked around her. The floor was brightly polished, and covered in red carpets, and the walls were just as bright. As this place was practically empty, she had a feeling that the party wasn't being held in this room. But it was still breathtaking, nonetheless.

"Ah, you must be a contest winner, correct?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Christy looked toward a Toad that green spots on his mushroom top instead of red. She nodded her head at him. "That's right!"

"Come this way. The party has already begun." Without another word, the toad turned around and started walking off. Christy quickly followed after him as he led her down a few hallways.

The brunette shook her head when the Toad wasn't looking at her. It was just her luck that she should arrive later than everyone else. She figured that all of the other winners were already there and having a great time already. Finally, they made it to a certain door and he motioned to it.

"It's right through here," he said as he opened the door.

"Wow…" Christy breathed as she walked into the room. The room was packed and it was filled with lots of food. As expected all of the other contest winners were there, and some were already talking to each other.

The brunette moved in further, but couldn't find anyone she recognized. This made her nervous and she hesitated to start a conversation with anyone, because there were so many people. But she listened to the chatter around her. Many people were amazed that they were actually in the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time. While others were saying that while they had entered the contest, they would have rather done it with Mario, Luigi or Toad. Of course, it was rather difficult to hear everything that people were saying.

Christy looked around and noticed that Princess Peach wasn't around. She was probably here when the party started, but left shortly afterwards. It must be tiring greeting all of the guests, if Paper Mario was right. She also noticed that besides the contest winners, there were some Toads mingling among the guests. She walked over to one that had blue spots on the top of her head.

"Excuse me?" she called to the Toad.

The Toad looked up at the girl curiously. "Yes, may I help you with something?"

"I know I'm a little late and everything, but do you think it's possible that I can still meet Princess Peach?"

The female Toad looked thoughtful. "I did notice she left a little while ago. It's possible that she just went to her room, where it is a little quieter."

That sounded like a pretty good idea to the brunette's mind. She was never too good with big crowds. She never knew there was going to be a party until today. "Could you take me there?" she suddenly asked.

"I could, but you will miss the party!" the Toad exclaimed. She looked at the girl as though she was a little crazy. Especially since just about anyone would want to be invited to one of Princess Peach's parties!

"I'll be back before the party is over," Christy said as quickly as she could. "I just want to meet her. Please?"

Seeing that the girl asked nicely, the Toad nodded her head and smiled. "Okay, please follow me."

* * *

Christy was lead through the well decorated hallways of the castle and to a room with a large pink colored doorway. The Toad smiled and pointed. "Here is the Princess' room. Please knock before you enter."

Christy nodded and stepped over to the door. She reached out and took hold of the gold colored knocker and rapped it twice on the door. She then stepped back and waited. After a few minutes had passed she looked over curiously at the Toad, who simply shrugged her shoulders. The brunette looked back at the door in front of her and took hold of the knob and opened the door.

"Um, hello… Princess Peach, are you here?" she asked as she walked into the room. She smiled as she looked around. As she expected, the room looked neat and tidy with everything in its place. There was a large comfy looking bed covered with a pink comforter and on the far wall hung a picture of Mario. Christy stepped further into the room and noticed a pink dresser and other stuff you would expect in a royal Princess' bedroom.

But another look around told her that Peach wasn't in her room, like the Toad had suggested. But it was possible that she would come here eventually. Christy didn't mind waiting; she would rather be alone than be in a huge crowd anyway. So she decided it would be better to wait here.

However, just sitting around and waiting sounded kinda boring and her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. So she decided to look around for a little bit. Feeling curious, Christy walked over to Peach's dresser and opened it up. What she saw didn't surprise her one bit; a lot of dresses and sports wear, all of it pink in color.

"_I wonder how I would look in that dress?"_ the brunette thought, looking at the many similar dresses. She hoped that the Princess wouldn't mind if she borrowed it, just to try it on. She took out a dress and closed the dresser.

Christy quickly slipped out of her usual shirt and pants and into Peach's pink dress. She smoothed it out and walked carefully over to a mirror to look at her reflection. The girl couldn't help a smile when she saw how it looked on her. And while the dress was a little big on her, she smiled at just how cute she looked in it.

She was so taken by the dress that she didn't notice when a figure flying on a broom came to a stop in front of the window of the Princess' room. The Magikoopa looked intently into the room. He was looking for a girl wearing a pink dress. King Bowser had been very specific about the dress' color and it was a good thing too, since he couldn't see very many colors. It was lucky for him that pink happened to be one of the few colors he could see.

It was then he spotted a girl standing in front of a mirror. And the girl was clearly wearing a pink dress! Not even thinking about the fact that the girl's hair was obviously shorter, he cast a spell and directed it to the girl. He had been given a mission and he would fulfill it! He was going to capture Princess Peach and deliver her to King Bowser!

By the time Christy knew there was anything wrong, it was too late. The spell hit her, causing her to cry out momentarily and then she slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Mario series.

The Magikoopa swooped closer to the ground, outside of Bowser's Castle. He couldn't have been more proud of his success. He had managed to sneak into Peach's castle and kidnapped the Princess! Now all he had to do was to deliver the girl to Bowser.

He flew through the front door on his broomstick, and ignored the stares he got from his fellow minions. He headed straight to the throne room calling out, "I did it, King Bowser!"

Bowser, who was sitting on his throne, looked up and saw the Magikoopa coming toward him. "You did what?" the Koopa King questioned, trying not to sound annoyed.

"I did what you asked me to do, I kidnapped Princess Peach!" the Magikoopa explained as he came to a stop directly in front of Bowser.

"You did?" Bowser asked, looking a little confused. It was then he remembered that he wasn't in the mood to go to Peach's Castle directly for some reason, so he called out to a random minion and told him that the task was his.

Of course, he had to explain that Princess Peach wore a pink dress, which now that he thought about it, was actually a little odd. There was merchandise of Princess Peach all over the place from dolls to posters. By now, everyone should know what she looks like.

However, as he didn't like to think too much, the Koopa King let it slide, and looked at the girl that was on the Magikoopa's broom. He noticed Peach's dress, but there was something very wrong. The girl's hair was short and brown, whereas Peach's hair was longer and blonde. He took a few steps closer and lifted her head so he could get a better view of her face. His eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze from the human girl to the Magikoopa, and he glared at him.

The Magikoopa tilted his head in confusion. "Is there a problem, Your Angriness?"

"This isn't Peach!" Bowser exclaimed, unable to control his temper. "This is just some other girl in Peach's dress!"

The Magikoopa was stunned when he heard what Bowser just said. Could it really be? He looked at the unconscious girl that he had kidnapped. The only thing that really stood out to him was that the dress she was wearing was pink, just like he had been told. However, everything else about the girl looked black and white to him. Seeing Bowser's anger, he knew better than to question him.

Before he could ask what they should do with her, a moan could be heard coming from the girl. "Ouch," she murmured, putting her hand on her forehead. She slowly opened up her eyes and looked up. Surprise washed over her face and she gasped as she looked around her.

"I have a feeling I'm not in Peach's Castle anymore," she said slowly, looking at the gray stone walls. Then her eyes landed on the Koopa King, and her eyes widened.

Bowser stared at the girl for a moment, before looking at his minions. He should have known better than to trust a minion with the capture of Princess Peach. Well, that would be a mistake he wouldn't make for quite some time.

"I'll just go and kidnap Peach myself!"

"What shall we do with the girl, Your Rageness?" the color blind Magikoopa asked, seeing that the Koopa King wasn't happy with the current events.

"Well, you could let me go, since I'm not who you are looking for," the girl suggested.

Bowser turned his gaze back on the girl. "I could do that," he agreed. "But, I'm not going to!"

* * *

Peach followed the blue spotted Toad to her room. She heard that someone had gone to her room to meet her, but it wasn't long before the Toad heard her cry out. After walking through the hallways, and passing by more Toad guards, she finally made it to her room and opened the door.

On her bed was a short sleeved shirt and a pair of sweat pants, and her dresser was open. She walked toward the dresser and looked inside it, noticing that one of her pink dresses was missing. "Oh dear," she murmured.

The Toad walked over to stand next to the Princess. "From the look of things, I think she tried on one of your dresses, Princess," she said, stating the obvious.

"Yes, I think so as well," Princess Peach agreed. "I don't know why she did it, but it seems to have gotten her in trouble."

"Yeah, but how?" questioned the confused Toad. "Bowser's kidnapped you so many times. I don't think even he would mess up that badly."

"I don't know," Peach said slowly. "But, I'm sure he will be back."

The Toad nodded in agreement. "You're right. This mistake only proves he came to kidnap you yet again! Should I get Mario?"

"Yes, that would be a good idea," the blonde haired Princess agreed.

The Toad nodded and turned around, running out of Peach's room as fast as her feet would allow her to go. Peach watched her leave, and then turned to look out the window.

She still didn't know what caused the girl to try on one of her dresses. And she wouldn't know until she would be able to ask the girl directly. But whatever the reason, it caused the girl to be kidnapped instead of her.

She had been Bowser's prisoner several times, but she didn't know if the other girl would get the same treatment from the Koopa King. All Peach could do was pray to the stars that she would be okay, at least for now anyway.

The first thing that needed to be done was to stop Bowser from kidnapping her. Bowser would probably attack any minute now and they couldn't let their guard down. Then, they could set their sights on saving the girl from the Koopa King. Being from another world entirely, she could only guess how the girl was feeling right now.

"She must be frightened," Peach said to no one in particular. "But, I'm sure she is alright."

* * *

It was peaceful at the Mario Bros. house. The wind was blowing gently, the sun was setting, and Mario and Luigi were having their dinner, which was spaghetti. Maybe it was a little too peaceful.

Luigi faked a yawn and wiped the spaghetti sauce off his face with a napkin. Mario had to look away so he wouldn't follow his brother's example. Although he couldn't put his finger on it, there was something important that they were supposed to do when they were finished eating. But what was it?

Suddenly, their peaceful evening was interrupted by a voice calling just outside the house. "Mario!"

Mario's ears perked when he heard his name. He quickly pushed himself away from the table and ran outside. Luigi only shook his head as he followed his brother. He was always in his brother's shadow, and he knew it. His red capped brother would be the one most people would call.

Outside was a female Toad, who looked relieved to see Mario. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but we have a problem! Bowser is going to attack the castle any minute now!"

"What?" Luigi questioned, looking surprised. "How do you know that?"

"There was an attempted kidnapping at the castle not long ago," the Toad explained. "But the wrong person was kidnapped! You can only bet that Bowser will try again!"

Mario nodded his head in understanding. He had protected Princess Peach for as long as he could remember, and he would never back down. He would make sure that Peach remained out of his clutches this time. But then he realized something.

"You said someone else got kidnapped?"

"That's right," the blue spotted Toad said with a nod of her head. "She was one of the contest winners actually. She wanted to visit Princess Peach, but she wasn't in her room like I thought she was. Then she tried on Peach's dress for some reason, and that caused her to get kidnapped. Of course, she doesn't look anything like the Princess, so I'm a bit confused over how this happened."

As soon as Mario heard the words 'contest winners,' his blue eyes widened. Of course, that was it! They were supposed to go to Peach's party after dinner to meet with the winners of the contest as well. Of course Mario had accepted and Luigi did as well, though the red capped plumber really wanted to see Princess Peach too.

"Anyway, please protect the Princess, Mario!" the Toad said quickly. "You've beaten Bowser many times before!"

Mario nodded his head. "I'm on my way!" he exclaimed. He then turned his attention to his brother. "Let's go, Luigi!"

"W… what, me too?" the green capped plumber asked.

The red capped man nodded his head and smiled at Luigi. "Of course, we both have to be at Peach's Castle anyway."

"Well, maybe I should go and rescue the other girl?" Luigi suggested.

"Wow, that's brave of you, Luigi," the Toad piped up. "Even with Bowser gone, there would be plenty of minions to guard his castle. I'm sure that they'll outnumber you… maybe they'll even beat you to a pulp since you are on your own. But, it takes a lot of guts to do something like that!"

Luigi gulped when he heard what she said. He didn't even think about that! He could just picture many Goombas, Koopas, Magikoopas, even Boos ganging up on him. He quickly shook his head to get his thoughts back in order. "Um… Maybe I'll go with you after all, Mario," he said quickly.

Mario smiled at his brother. "Then let's go!"

Luigi nodded and the two brothers rushed to Peach's Castle as quickly as they could. The Toad stared after them for a little bit and managed a small smile.

So Luigi went back on his words and went with Mario. Well, that's even better in a way! With both Mario Bros. there, Bowser would have a difficult time taking Princess Peach!

Her smile widened as she followed after the plumbers. Maybe everything would work out in the end! At least, she could always hope.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Mario series.

Christy sat on the stone floor, with her back against the wall and she sighed softly as she ran her fingers through her short, brown hair. She looked around the cell she had been thrown in, and couldn't help shivering just a little bit. And while she knew that Magikoopa kidnapped her on accident, she was pretty sure of one thing; it was her fault.

The Magikoopa wouldn't have even bothered with her if she wasn't wearing Peach's dress. From what the brunette could understand, the dress was the reason he kidnapped her in the first place. As she thought about who kidnapped her, her thoughts drifted back to how it happened, and she realized something else.

Christy knew that she should have asked instead of just trying on the dress without permission. Even though she only meant to borrow it, just to try it on for a minute or two, she still took it without Peach's consent. She decided that when she really met Princess Peach that she would apologize to her for being so rude.

"That is… if I ever get out of here," she said softly to herself.

Christy stretched after a few more minutes of thinking, and rubbed her left arm with her right hand. Even though she was scared, she was also getting a little bored. There had to be something she could do to pass the time.

The girl slowly pushed herself to her feet, and trying to get her mind off of the situation, she wondered what would happen if she tried to jump. Maybe her ability to jump increased when she got here! With that in mind, she jumped into the air, but it was just the small, regular jump that she could do back home.

Christy sighed again as she leaned against the wall. "I guess that's not too surprising," she said to herself. "Now what will happen?"

She tried to think of something else, anything to pass more time, but nothing came to mind. Fear crept into her body, making her worry that she was going to be here for the rest of her life. And if that was true, then she would never see her friends and family from her home ever again.

Christy quickly shook her head, trying to drive away those thoughts. Instead, she tried to focus on the ones who lived in this world. Because she knew that if Bowser and Peach existed here, then so did Mario and Luigi!

She knew that both Mario and Luigi were heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, even though Luigi wasn't seen doing it as much as his brother. Though he can be a bit of a scaredy-cat, Christy recalled a time where the green capped plumber went to rescue his brother despite his fear. And Mario himself helped many people in his life, though he rescued Princess Peach a lot. She couldn't help but hope that they could help her out of this situation!

Well, once they knew about it of course.

The brunette's thoughts shifted once again, as it was hard to cling to hope it seemed. Christy sighed sadly and wiped a tear away from her eye.

* * *

While waiting for Mario and Luigi to arrive at the castle, Princess Peach stood in the ballroom and debated with the Toads around her about the situation at hand. While many agreed it was the other girl's fault she got kidnapped in the first place, they all agreed that no one deserved to be in Bowser's clutches like that. And knowing Bowser, he probably made the girl his prisoner instead of releasing her.

"Where is Mario?" one of the Toads finally asked.

Before anyone could answer, the door to the room opened, and Mario jumped inside. Luigi on the other hand just walked right in, instead of jumping.

"There he is!" exclaimed a toad with purple spots on his mushroom top.

"It looks like he brought Luigi with him," another Toad, who had green spots, added.

Princess Peach walked over to the plumbers and smiled. "Mario, Luigi. It's good to see you." She waved her hand around the ballroom, which wasn't as packed with people as it was not long ago. "We sent the other winners of the contest home. We figured it would be much safer."

Mario and Luigi nodded their heads in agreement. It made perfect sense, considering what was going to happen.

Luigi looked around the room, and looked thoughtful. "So, where is Bowser anyway?"

"Did someone call on the awesome Koopa King?" asked a familiar voice behind the plumbing duo.

The plumbers turned around to see that Bowser forcibly opened the door, and stormed inside. Luigi gasped and quickly took a few steps backwards. The King of the Koopas didn't look particularly happy, but it wasn't just because the Mario Bros. were here to stop him yet again.

"I came here to kidnap the Princess as usual, but when I get here, I hear about some party that had to break up!" Anger could clearly be seen in his red eyes and he curled both hands into fists. "So, why wasn't I invited?!"

"The party wasn't for you, Bowser," Peach answered. "The party was meant for those lucky people in the other world who won a contest."

Bowser had heard of the other world, just like everyone else. But that didn't change the fact that he was pretty mad. With a growl, he walked a couple of steps forward, intent on taking the Princess then and there. As he got closer however, he noticed a familiar figure nearby, clothed in red and blue. That mustache was very unmistakable.

"So, Mario was invited and I wasn't?!" Bowser demanded, glaring at the mustachioed plumber. At this time, the Toads in the room surrounded Peach and they moved to a different spot in the room. "Well, that's it! I'm going to beat you once and for all, and I'll take Peach with me!"

Mario just shook his head and looked toward his brother. "Let's go, Luigi!"

Luigi just stood there for a couple of seconds before he nodded. It's not like he hadn't fought Bowser before. And since Mario was with him, there shouldn't be any problems.

Bowser moved closer to Mario and punched with his right fist, hoping to connect. But, the red capped plumber dodged out the way. He even shot fire in Mario's direction, but he quickly moved out of the line of fire.

As Mario continued to dodge Bowser's attacks, waiting for an opening, Luigi lost his fighting stance. Maybe he wouldn't have to fight after all, and he could leave the battle to his brother. He could help the Toads protect the Princess then.

Just when he thought of doing that, Bowser turned his attention to the green capped plumber and breathed fire in his direction. Mario noticed and shouted his brother's name to get his attention. Luigi cried out and jumped as high as he could, and the flames licked his feet.

Well, that settled it then, whether Luigi liked it or not; the Mario Bros. were going to fight Bowser together!

With Bowser's attention now on Luigi, Mario jumped into the air and landed on top of the big koopa's head. Of course, it would take more than one bounce on the head to get rid of Bowser. The King of the Koopas turned toward Mario and moved forward to punch him. Luigi however took his chance like his brother did, and stomped on the top of Bowser's head.

Being the King of Koopas, Bowser had enough strength to hold his own. Yet, it never seemed to matter. Every time he was bested by Mario, even Luigi if he happened to be there. And it didn't look like this time would be any different.

Bowser actually landed a couple of punches on Luigi, but that didn't stop the green capped plumber. The brothers were working as a team now. And all of the jumping to one's head could leave a serious headache, if not a migraine.

Finally, Bowser fell to the ground from the beating he took by the Mario Bros. At this point, the two brothers relaxed, knowing that the Koopa King wouldn't try anything for a little while. With a low growl, Bowser slowly pushed himself back to his feet.

"I can't believe that I lost, again!" Bowser exclaimed as he rubbed the many sore spots on his head. "But next time, you won't be so lucky! I will kidnap the Princess next time!"

Peach sighed with relief when Bowser stormed out of the ballroom. "Thank you, Mario, Luigi," she said as she walked over to them. "You two saved me from Bowser. once again"

Mario and Luigi grinned at each other. But the smile was slowly wiped off of the green capped plumber's face. "But doesn't he still have the other girl?"

The Mushroom Kingdom Princess nodded slowly. "Yes, I'm sure of it."

Mario jumped into the air. "We should go and save her now!" he quickly suggested. Luigi nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm going with you," Peach suddenly said, surprising everyone in the room. Mario was about to suggest that Peach should stay in her castle, but the Princess added, "While it is her fault for trying on my dress in the first place, I do feel responsible for this."

As if it happened right on cue, Toadsworth rushed into the large room, with a panicked look on his face. "You can't be serious, Princess!"

"You don't have to worry so much, Toadsworth," Peach remarked with a reassuring smile. "I won't be going alone. I'll be with Mario and Luigi."

The old Toad turned his gaze to the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom. "Well, yes, but…"

"I'm going," Princess Peach insisted. "I want to help them this time."

Toadsworth sighed softly. When the Princess got like this, it was pointless to try and change her mind. "Of course Your Highness." He turned to face the plumbing duo. "Masters Mario and Luigi, I trust you will take care of the Princess?"

"You can count on us!" Mario exclaimed, nodding his head.

* * *

Homesickness flooded through Christy's body and there was nothing she could do to stop it now. She tried everything she could think of to do; like jumping to see if she could get just a little bit higher, singing a song she liked or trying to reassure herself that she would be rescued. Nothing seemed to work, and now, she didn't even want to try.

The brunette sighed sadly as she wiped her eyes. She knew that sitting around and crying wasn't going to solve anything. But she couldn't do anything while she was trapped in this cell, either.

Time seemed to be going rather slowly while she was here. But then again, she couldn't tell what time it was either. All she knew was that she was alone, scared, and homesick.


End file.
